A hostile takeover of earth is unfolding secretly right
before our very eyes. Is this a political move, or is something much more
ancient and sinister at hand?

BLURB

A hostile takeover of earth is unfolding secretly right
before our very eyes. Is this a political move, or is something much more
ancient and sinister at hand? Mystery schools were formed by the elite to train
soldiers to further their agenda.

Lian Hunter is a freshman at one of these schools for the
exclusively wealthy; the Tri- Asterisk Academy in the heart of downtown Los
Angeles. When students start suddenly disappearing, Lian starts to feel
something evil and corrupt underlying the veneer of the academy. Can he uncover
the truth about his school before it is too late or is he just another soldier
in training?

EXCERPT

"Has
anyone ever heard of the Sumerians?" began Professor Snodgrass.

Gabriel
raised his hand.

"Gabriel?
You've heard of them?"

"Yes,
Professor. I think they were here around the same time as the
Babylonians."

"Right
you are, my lad." Professor Snodgrass rolled down one of the Old World
maps mounted on the wall. "Sumerians were one of the earliest
civilizations on record. Many of the developments and technological
advancements attributed to the Egyptians and other civilizations were actually
derived directly from the Sumerians."

The
professor shuffled some papers around on his desk for a few seconds. "Now
where did I put…" He paused for a moment. "Oh, well." He turned
back toward the map using a wooden ruler as a pointer.

"At
the time, Sumer was known as Mesopotamia, now known as Iraq. Yes, uh...right
about here on this particular map."

Snodgrass
put the ruler back on his desk. "Does everyone have their bearings now? Do
you understand where we are on the globe?" He looked around the class for
any questions. "Alright then, let's go to our Virtual Electronic Reality
Simulating Energizer, or V.E.R.S.E., as we call it."

The
professor moved to his computer, a few screens floated right in front of him.
He moved the images around with his hand, found the tab on one of the screens,
and clicked on it in mid-air to engage the program. The class was now in a
virtual realistic area of Sumer.

Lian
turned to his right, where the bottom block of a pyramid was now within an
arm's reach of his desk.

"We
are in the outskirts of the city, and as you can see, by one of the Sumerian
pyramids. And yes, I know what some of you are thinking…they had pyramids like
the Egyptians, and in fact, were the first civilization to have them. They were
arguably their most visual and impressive development."

"Professor,
how did they construct these pyramids this early in history?" Gabriel
asked.

"We
will get to that in just a moment. I will tell you they were built mostly for
religious purposes. Their high priest, called the "Ensi," was thought
of as a demi-god. He would live in the pyramids, and climb to the top during
ceremonies using ramps and stairs called "ziggurats." I think you
will find this impressive. Some of these pyramids would house as many as fifty
thousand rooms."

Lian,
Gabriel, and the other students were now out of their seats exploring the
details of the nearest pyramid. Lian could feel the heat bearing down upon him
as he watched some students taking pictures with their panoptic watches. He ran
his hand over some grooved etchings of triangles and lines. The professor was
now standing right next to him.

"Class,
take a good look at the drawings on the side of this structure. These are
called "cuneiform," a writing system developed by the Sumerians,
using symbols and pictures. Let me remind you again this was long before the
Egyptian hieroglyphics."

The
professor walked around discussing other Sumerian advancements, such as the
development of agriculture and bronze, and inventions including the
twenty-four-hour clock and the wheel.

"Think
about it." The professor put his index finger to the side of his head.
"All of these inventions, all of these developments, all of these
futuristic things came from the Sumerians. And all of these happened in a very,
very short time. There are many scholars who think they couldn't have done it
without help from some outside source, a source far more advanced than our
own."

Snodgrass
walked up a few steps and turned. "I want you to ponder these ideas as you
explore more of these pyramids. Feel free to climb the steps, but just be
careful."

Lian
and Gabriel passed the professor, and continued to make their way toward the
top of the pyramid.

"I'm
pretty sure these were built by auditive levitation, just like the Egyptians.
What do you think?" Gabriel turned to Lian and climbed backwards for a few
steps.

Lian
nodded, a bit out of breath. "I agree. I mean, how else could they have
done it?"

They
kept climbing, finally reaching the highest of the pyramid's plateaus. They
walked over to the edge and sat down, taking in the view from below as they
caught their breath. The view itself was breathtaking, and they looked out at
the structures of a city in the distance engulfed by the desert. Then Lian
suddenly froze as he felt something crawling on his shoulder. He was afraid to
look, but knew he had to, and knew he should move slowly to do so. Whatever it
was, he just hoped it was not poisonous. Lian cautiously turned his head
towards his shoulder, imagining the worst. A large black scarab was now moving
down his upper arm. Lian immediately jumped up with a loud gasp, startling
Gabriel, and quickly brushed the scarab off his jacket.

"What
the heck?" Gabriel looked at the bug. "It's just a virtual beetle,
Lian. What are you afraid of?" Gabriel chuckled and went right back to
taking in the scenery.

As
Lian watched the bug crawl away, his eyes glanced up and caught a familiar
image on one of the center blocks. He got up and moved toward the structure
behind him for a closer look. A depression in the stone revealed a figure with
an eagle's head and the body of a human, like one of the academy's statues.

Facing
forward and looking down the long steps at other students, Gabriel pointed
behind him with his thumb. "Right back there is where the Ensi would
have..." Turning to his left, he realized Lian was no longer beside him,
but now standing at the exact spot he was describing.

"Do
these impressions remind you of anything, Gabe?"

Gabriel
stood up and walked up the few steps to join him. "Hmmmmm…"

"They're
the same figures as the statues in the front courtyard. You know the ones…the
ones in the circle."

"Oh
yeah, you're right."

Lian
ran his hand over the eagle-headed figure engraved in the wall. The head and
fully extended wings were carved in such detail it made the depression seem
almost life-like. He kept his hand on the wall as he walked up the last steps
of the structure.

"Here's
the second figure." He looked down at Gabriel, who was still studying the
first one. Gabriel walked up the stairs and was now standing next to him.
"This is the human one, Gabe." Lian stared at the long beard and the
outstretched hand.

"They
had some amazing sculptors back then. It seems like you could pull a hair right
out of this guy's beard."

"I
know." Lian took a few more steps around the structure, his hand never
leaving the surface as he searched for more markings. "But where is the
third?" Lian continued to follow the wall around a corner when he suddenly
stopped.

"You're
not going in there, are you?" Gabriel peered around Lian's shoulder and
saw an opening.

"Why
not?" Lian stepped through the entrance and turned back to Gabriel,
"It's only virtual, remember?"

"Yeah...well,
alright." Gabriel followed his friend into the mysterious structure.